Project Part 2: Communication
by FisherofMen
Summary: A witch takes something important away from one of the Winchester brothers. (WARNINGS: cursing, a little (like tiny) bit of blood.)


**A/N: PLEASE READ. THIS IS MY SECOND HURT!SAM FIC IN MY COLLECTION OF ONESHOTS. I'm starting a new hurt!Sam project. Basically, I'll write some drabbles/oneshots/twoshots of hurt!Sam fics to keep my writing skills in practice while I try and figure out my current multi-chapter fic. They will each be individual, but they will, hopefully, be inspired by your guys' submissions. I'm taking requests. From you guys, so please leave me a review and watch my account for new hurt!Sam stories. I'll pick out my favorite requests and do my best to write them. But, AGAIN, THEY WILL EACH BE INDIVIDUAL THEY WILL NOT BE UPDATED TO THIS STORY! FOR MORE INFORMATION, CHECK OUT MY FIRST HURT!SAM FIC HERE: s/10755627/1/Project-Part-1-Don-t-Turn-Your-Back**

**This is based on the request from Jkf340: ****Can you write a hurt but also mute Sam?**

**Takes place during Season 1, but could be in almost any Season.**

**WARNINGS: cursing, a little (like tiny) bit of blood.**

000

"Dude," I said, not taking my eyes off of the newspaper headline. I waited until I could feel Sam's gaze on me before reading it out loud. "Man drowns in locked motel room." I leafed through the rest of the article. "Last Friday, one of the cleaning ladies found him dead on the floor. She called 911 - autopsy says he drowned. The only water they could find was in the dude and on the carpet around him, some of it he managed to cough up before suffocating. The police are baffled and the room is still closed off for 'further investigation'." I tossed the newspaper on the desk in front of me, eyeing my brother as he rolled to his feet off the bed and strode over to snatch it from the surface.

"Well that certainly isn't normal..." He skimmed over the front page. "The guy was from outta town, but lots of the people from Ekman and, uh, Keystone knew who he was. Introduced himself as Dale Boyd. Apparently he visited the towns in this area, talked to a lot of the locals." His gaze found the bottom and he flipped it over to inspect the next page. The concentration lines on his forehead smoothed out as his eyebrows raised, speaking his un-voiced surprise as he sat down on the edge of the nearest bed.

"Dean, he had multiple ID's on him _and_ fake FBI badges. They found several firearms and other weapons in his car, and a few 'occult' books."

I frowned, resting my elbows on my knees, and licked my lips. "... Another hunter?" He shrugged and glanced back at the paper.

"Sure sounds like it. What do you think he was hunting?"

"Don't know. But I bet it has something to do with him spouting up water for no reason."

"Yeah..." Sam said quietly, setting the newspaper on the bed and staring at the floor. I sighed and slid my knuckles over the shiny wood table-top, knocking them on the edge as I stood to my feet.

"Come on. Let's go see if anyone knows anything about Mr. Hunter."

000

Turns out Dale Boyd arrived around Tuesday morning, asking the local bars and restaurants about a young woman's death a few weeks prior. Her husband and a few neighbors could attest that said woman had been acting strange a few days before she died, screaming in her sleep and suffering from severe paranoia. Her husband found her dead in the kitchen when he got back from work. It was later found that she had stage four stomach cancer, seemingly out of nowhere. She showed no signs or symptoms of experiencing the other three stages before; just up and died.

"What do you think? Vengeful spirit?" Sam asked, stepping off the curb around to the passenger side of the Impala.

"Maybe. The only thing they have in common is a freakish death, though." I leaned over the roof of the car and clasped my hands together. "I don't know about you, but this sounds more like witchcraft. Curses or spells or something."

"A witch?"

I shrugged and tugged the door open, sliding into the driver's side and starting the car with a deep sigh. I didn't miss the way Sam basically melted into the cushions when he sat. Kid couldn't get a decent night's sleep.

"You think she cursed Boyd cause he was onto her?"

"Could have."

Sam nodded and chewed on his lip, eyes squinting as his brain worked past the sleep deprivation.

"Dude."

His muddy gaze flickered over to me questioningly.

"Stop it; you'll pull something." I started the car and peeled back onto the street, turning down the music to a low volume.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the door. "Shut up, jerk."

"You shut up, bitch."

000

Something was wrong.

I startled awake with a gasp, shooting up in my bed, knife enclosed in my fist as I flailed to flip on the lamp. The form that had been hovering above me stumbled backwards into the wall with its hands raised in a surrendering gesture as it struggled to regain its balance. Knife still held out, I squinted through the sudden light that flooded the room and could make out the familiar features of my little brother.

"Sam? What the hell, man, I could have stabbed you!" I tucked my blade underneath the pillow and rolled my shoulders to stretch the stiff muscles in my back. A quick glance at the half-covered window revealed that the night was still young. "What're you doing up, anyway?"

He opened his mouth to respond, eyes as wide as saucers as he groped for words. As my eyes adjusted, I could easily make out the panic swimming in the dusty hazel orbs.

"Sam?"

The fringe of hair that almost got in the way of his eyes was stuck to his head with sweat and his chest heaved with deep, labored breaths. I eased off the mattress and tried to read his expression beyond the obvious panic. Clearly, he'd woken from a nightmare, but he never intentionally woke me before, so something was different this time.

"Sam, talk to me."

He wiped a hand down his face, eyelids lingering closed before he sunk down the wall until he was seated on the floor, knees folded up near his chest. He jerked his head back to rest against the wall.

I rounded the bed and crouched down next to him. "_Sam._" Anxiousness gnawed at my gut as I reached out a hand to clutch his shoulder. Without warning, he shot to his feet, striding with purpose over to the desk and opening a drawer. He pulled out a notebook and pen, hunching his shoulders and he scribbled something down. "Sam, what-"

He spun around, eyes flashing as he swallowed and thrust the paper in my face. I scowled at him and gazed at the quickly written letters scrawled over the lines.

_I can't talk. _

... Wait, what? I worked my jaw and raised my eyes to look at his. "'You can't talk'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" My voice sounded rough and I coughed to clear it. He rolled his eyes and started penning a response, eyebrows drawn together.

_I can't make noises with my mouth. What do you think it means?_

"You can't..." I trailed off as I tried to grasp the words that were hovering in front of me.

The pen returned to the page as he started writing again.

_Witch?_

Oh.

_Oh._

I swore and clenched my hands into fists at my sides, turning away to try and find something to destroy. The witch would be the best choice, but a nearby lamp would have to suffice. I struck my hand out, knocking the lamp off the nightstand to crash onto the floor. Sam flinched, but didn't say- er, write- anything. Dammit.

The room suddenly felt too small and I wandered past Sam to the window, running my fingers through my hair on the way. "So, it's just... It's just the, uh, talking? Everything else is... is fine?"

Sam nodded tersely, notebook held limply in his grip.

I bobbed my head in reply and craned my neck to peer at him. "What, uh..." I cleared my throat and twisted all the way around to face him. "What do you want to do?"

He looked vaguely surprised before he went back to scribbling a reply.

_I'm not that tired. You can go back to sleep. I think I'm going to check the local records for any other suspicious and/or recent deaths. _

I made a face at him as I fished the car keys from my coat pocket. "No way, dude, I'm coming with. You're friggin' cursed. You ain't going anywhere without a babysitter." He scowled at me, but followed me out into the hallway nonetheless. I closed the door and we headed towards the lobby, the silence deafening and uncomfortable. The old woman at the front desk smiled at us as we passed, eyebrows sinking in what looked like confusion.

"Up so early?" she questioned, glancing at the clock that read two a.m. as she shuffled some papers together. I flashed her a forced grin and shrugged.

"Just need some air."

"Ohh, alright. You boys be careful."

Sam smiled stiffly and nodded, ushering me towards the door, only stopping once we were outside. I started towards the car, tensing when his grip on my arm stopped me. I looked over to see him writing something again.

_Did you see her bracelet? It has charms on it; pentagrams and altered crosses._ I stared at the page long and hard before glancing up at him.

"... She has got to be one of the dumbest witches we've ever hunted." I continued towards the car, to the back end this time, and opened the trunk. "Come on, Sammy, let's..."

The sound of papers ruffling and a soft thunk pulled my gaze from the arsenal back to my brother and the discarded notebook and pen on the ground. His face was contorted in pain as he double forward, arms wrapped around his middle.

"Sam?" A few paces over and I stood next to him. "_Sammy?_" I grabbed both of his shoulders as his knees buckled, lowering us both to the ground. He coughed, a strangled noise, startling us both when red speckled his lips. "Crap," I muttered as I kept him from face-planting. He struggled against my hold, twisting out of my grasp to gesture behind us. "What?" With a shaky hand, he pointed in the direction of the front doors.

Oh. Duh.

I pulled Sam over to the Impala and leaned him against one of the tires before scrambling to the trunk and grabbing my gun. I cast him a nervous glance, then retreated towards the inn with a muttered curse.

The lobby was eerily quiet, the only sound coming from the old floorboards as I crept across the room. Witch lady was gone. Suppressing another colorful word, I stalked around the front desk and peeked into the back room. Standing in the corner next to a file cabinet, the woman stood, gray streaked hair hanging from her bowed head. Her lips moved, forming silent words, as if in prayer, fingers curled around her necklace.

I raised my gun to point at her head and stepped into the doorway. "Hey!"

She gasped and backed into the wall, hand still clutching her necklace as her chanting came to a halt. Shock subsiding, a smile stretched across her face.

"Hello."

"Put my brother back together, bitch," I snarled, raising my left hand to cup the butt of my gun.

"Or what? You'll kill me? That won't help your brother," she hissed and stood a little straighter. I narrowed my eyes and shrugged, stepping into the room.

"I won't kill you."

I lowered the barrel to aim at her thigh, offering no hesitation as I pulled the trigger. She cried out and dropped to the ground.

"Fix. My brother. Bitch."

It only took a second to realize she was muttering again, curled over her injury to muffle her words.

Ignoring the growing pain in my chest, I strode over to her and slammed the butt of my gun against the back of her skull.

000

The woman, if that's what you could call her, shifted in her seat, head lulling against her chest as she struggled to regain consciousness. I kicked the back leg of her chair. She gasped and her head shot up, drawing a pathetic moan from her lips.

"Rise and shine." I rounded the chair to stand in front of her, gun lifted to aim between her eyes.

She sighed, looking exasperated, and tested her bonds. "Nice to see you too."

"Shall we continue?" I didn't even care why she killed that girl and that hunter anymore. I just needed her to fix my brother.

Confusion shadowed her eyes as they flickered behind me to Sam, who no doubt still had blood smeared on his chin. I managed to interrupt her spell early enough to keep him from puking up his guts.

Her gaze drifted down to her chest, surprise cloaking her face at the sight of her bare collarbone and then her bare wrist. Composing herself, she glowered up at me.

"Now, now. I can't fix him without those."

"You'll get them back when you decide to cooperate."

"And if I don't? You're going to kill me no matter what, so why would I help you?"

I crouched down in front of her and gestured to her leg wound with the tip of my gun. "Because you might die a lot faster."

Noticing the blood must have reminded her of the pain, going by the wince that dampened her eyes. She growled low in her throat, glaring at me again. "Fine," she spat.

I rose and received the charms from Sam. "See, was that so hard?" Her gaze sharpened.

I tucked the jewelry into her bound hands and took a step back, nodding to Sam who started speaking soundlessly down from a hundred in Latin. The chant rolled easily off of the witch's tongue, like waves on a beach. They were almost soothing, like a lullaby. My head swam.

Crap.

I took a shaky step forward, trying to see past the dark splotches dancing in my vision.

_Crap._

The horizon tilted and the floor rushed up to meet me. Then there was Sam, kneeling in front of me as my mind grew numb, mouth shouting empty words. He grew fuzzy, then faded to black.

000

Something brushed my forehead.

I licked my lips, searching for a reason why my tongue felt like cotton and my head like a drumset.

More feather-light touches, this time on my cheekbone.

"I'm up," I tried to say, but the only noise that I could hear was the high pitched ringing in my ears.

The next poke was much more forceful.

The pounding in my head increased and I groaned lightly, groping for unconsciousness to swallow me back up to a much more peaceful and painless place.

Now it was a hand, patting the side of my face almost frantically before drifting down to my upper arm to shake me. Reluctantly, I let sleep slip through my fingers and concentrated on trying to force my two-ton eyelids open.

The shaking subsided to a gentle weight on my shoulder.

"I'm up," I repeated, hoping it was coherent enough. Judging by the small squeeze on my arm, it was. Head still spinning, I managed to drag my eyes open to a wall of smeared color; one particular glob of colors shifted. I blinked repeatedly to try and flush the blurriness away.

The grip on my arm grounded me and pulled me out of candyland until the colors sharpened and my surroundings came into focus. The first thing I could see clearly was the familiar muddy green eyes boring into my face, concern and a hint of desperation lurking in their depths.

"Sam? You okay?"

He shrugged, countenance saying 'More or less'. The fact that he hadn't urged or spoken me to consciousness indicated that he still couldn't speak. He nodded towards me.

"What?"

He held up a hand, motioning for me to stay, as he stood and retreated from the room, returning quickly with a pen and printer paper. Lowering himself down to sit cross-legged next to me, he started scribbling a message.

_Are you okay?_

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Peachy." A quick assessment of the room revealed one dead witch and a mostly trashed office. I eyed Sam, then the corpse a few feet away. "You killed her?"

He nodded and hunched over to write again.

_She used some sort of spell to get untied after she knocked you out. I had to shoot her. I was hoping that it might reverse the mute spell._

"We'll call Bobby. He's gotta have a reversing spell lying around somewhere."

I swallowed and rolled into a sitting position, blinking repeatedly when the room spun. The grip on my shoulder returned, which I brushed off as I struggled to my feet. My knees wobbled as they tried to hold my weight, threatening to buckle if not for the persistent mothering of Sam. He snatched the paper and pen from the floor and herded me out of the room towards the front door.

"Dude, let go. I'm fine." I shrugged his hands off and pushed the front door open, ignoring the twisting in my stomach and the pressure behind my eyes. I paused in the doorway.

He scowled, but complied, and hurried in front of me to the right side of the Impala.

"Uh, Sam?"

The only response he offered was a quick glance as he jerked the door open.

"Aren't you forgetting somethin'?"

He made eye contact before his gaze fluttered to one of the motel room windows. Then he shook his head and gestured towards the seat.

"What?"

Shoulders drooping, he jotted down his reply, crumbled it up and tossed it at me. I frowned and darted forward to catch it.

_You sit. I'll go get the stuff._

By the time I finished reading the short phrases, Sam was already sliding past me back into the building.

"Wait, what? Sam..." I rolled my eyes and stalked towards my baby, taking a seat in the driver's side while leaving the door open. It only took a few minutes before Sam reappeared at the entrance, luggage in hand. He put them in the backseat and stepped next to me.

Silence.

I sighed and lifted my head to face him, mouth in a straight line. "What, Sam?"

He already had a note written out:_ I'm driving._ I looked between the paper and Sam's face.

"Excuse me?" I asked quickly, ignoring his exasperated eye roll as he started to answer.

_You just woke up from a sleeping spell. A drowsy driver is worse than a drunk driver, so I'm driving._

"Sam-"

He held up a hand, eyebrows raised, and gestured for me to scoot over.

"Dude-"

He inclined his head in the direction of the passenger seat and took a step closer towards the car.

I cursed and maneuvered over to the right side, sliding deep into the seat as Sam hopped in next to me. "Bitch."

He swatted my arm and even out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the exaggerated mouthing of 'Jerk'.

000

**A/N: This actually turned out a lot more brief than I had planned, but you guys haven't had an update for a while, so I tried to wrap it up. Things come to a relatively okay ending, most of the fixing you can assume is fixed because of what Dean said about Bobby.**

**Now, I know there wasn't as much hurt!Sam as there was mute!Sam, but I was trying to get it done. Tell me what you think and I'll start on another submission as soon as I can!**

**Leave a request! If not, than at least tell me whatcha think. :)**


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